The McDonough City Council voted at its February 7 workshop meeting to move forward with construction of the new police precinct at a reduced cost of $648,190.

  A bid for $722,597 had been awarded in January to J.R. Bowman Construction of McDonough. City manager Keith Dickerson reported that after some negotiations, Bowman officials came up with the lower price without redesigning the project, and the price change will not affect the building’s structural integrity or its size. The cost of the project will be paid from impact fees.

  The new police precinct will be built on Simpson Street, on the south side of the city near Rufus Stewart Park. Construction should take about 10 months after the scope of the work is finalized, according to an official familiar with the project.

  In other business, the council approved a $349,949 contract with a contingency allowance giving Allsouth Constructors Inc. the go-ahead to do modifications to the city’s water treatment plant. The project cost is a capital outlay expense which is to be paid from the water treatment plant’s budget, according to city officials. The contract states that the work is to be completed in six months from the beginning date specified by the city’s engineer or pay a penalty of $600 for each additional day until completion.

  Also approved was a new rate schedule for its water/sewer customers who live outside the city limits. The new rates take effect April 1. City water customers who live inside the city limits will see no increase. Customers who live outside the city limits will be billed at the same rate as that of the Henry County Water Authority. The council decided last October to do a study after determining that the 300 or so residential customers living outside the city were paying less than what the HCWA charges, and that other municipalities, including the HCWA, already charged higher rates to customers outside their boundaries.